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Republicans call for reprimand of Ellison |
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By Klaus Marre
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Posted: 07/17/07 05:19 PM [ET] |
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Two House Republicans Tuesday called on Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) to reprimand Rep. Keith Ellison (D-Minn.) for reportedly drawing a comparison between President Bush and Adolf Hitler. “We call on you to swiftly and immediately reprimand Rep. Ellison for his flagrant and irresponsible comparison,” Reps. Zach Wamp (R-Tenn.) and Eric Cantor (R-Va.) wrote in a letter to Pelosi. “These comments inflame hatred and division at a time when we should be promoting our unity and reconciliation.” The controversy was triggered by an article in The Minneapolis Star Tribune that said Ellison told his audience that the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks “kind of remind” him of the 1933 Reichstag fire in Berlin. The event was used by Hitler and the Nazis to seize special powers, which they used to oppress the political left in Germany. According to the Star Tribune and a video of the event, Ellison said the fire “put the leader of that country [Hitler] in a position where he could basically have authority to do whatever he wanted.” Neither the video nor the story contains any direct comparisons between Bush and Hitler, although Ellison tells one audience member “You and I both know [who benefited from Sept. 11].” “Even if Rep. Ellison now asserts that he was not implying that 9/11 was orchestrated by the administration, the comparison between Hitler and the president of the United States is disgraceful,” Wamp and Cantor said. |
